short 628 Feb 2019 11:56
Interesting article, I think someone is onto it already.
Peakers are much better placed to deliver than larger traditional gas plants in an economy with lots of renewables,” said Diego Marquina, an analyst in London with BNEF. The UK may never need additional traditional gas plants.
Still, it might need a lot of peakers, according to an Imperial College London report for the government’s Climate Change Committee. In one scenario, as much as 147 gigawatts of gas-fired power capacity will be needed by 2050, compared with about 30GW currently.
Much of that capacity requirement depends on the progress of battery storage and electric-vehicle technology. So far, batteries can’t meet peak demand for long periods so gas-fired plants will still be needed to provide backup.
It’s not just the UK that’ll be grappling with the need for more gas peakers, as renewable output gathers pace, said Mr Eckert. Globally, the plants will make up a quarter of traditional gas-power capacity by 2030.